140: COVID: Necessary Reminders For Change

140: COVID: Necessary Reminders For Change

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has probably never felt this much change in such a short amount of time than ever before. In just weeks and months, our daily lives took a standstill, causing so many unprecedented adjustments physically, emotionally, and mentally. Host, Thane Marcus Ringler, dedicates this episode to share some necessary reminders in the midst of all the changes that we are all thrust into coping. Take heart, however, because these changes may offer us the much-needed encouragement and help to do the things we have put off doing. Thane explains how and why change is what we need to continue our growth, even when it seems like we’re stuck right now.

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140: COVID: Necessary Reminders For Change

This is a show all about learning how to live a good life. We believe that takes living with intention in the tension. That is the catchy slogan, motto, and mantra that we have on the show that my good friend, Adam Setser, coined. It’s all about living with intentionality. We believe that life has many tensions that we have to face daily and we’re especially feeling that now. The best way to do that is infusing intentionality into all that we do. This show is aimed at unpacking that experience as we are learning it day-by-day. We’re grateful that you’re here reading this blog. I am coming to you from the lovely State of Valdosta, Georgia visiting my good friend, Adam Setser.

This episode is going to be a little shorter solo episode where I discuss what change we are all experiencing. Before we get there, I have a few reminders. If you wanted to help us out, we can’t do the show by ourselves. We need your help and there are three easy ways that you can help us out. The first is leaving a rating and review on iTunes. It takes about two minutes and it is such an awesome way to help us with the show, so go to iTunes. You can leave a rating and review. A five-star rating would be awesome. If you leave a review, we may read it on the blog, which I will do now to a review from tylerbrondyk. The review is titled, “Knowledge Gold,” and it’s five stars.

He says, “This podcast is great. Thane is a gifted speaker and host for The Up & Comers Podcast who masterfully synthesizes information across multiple disciplines. For those who are looking to make a splash in the world and live into their best selves, this podcast is for you.” Thank you, Tyler. That’s kind. If you want to be on the blog, you can leave a rating and review and help us out. The second way to help us out is simple, just sharing this episode. You can either take a screenshot of the episode as you’re reading it now and post on socials tagging us, @UpAndComersShow or you can send it to a few friends that you think it’d be an encouragement to. That is an awesome way to spread the word. Finally, if you felt led to support us financially, this show isn’t for free.

It does cost money to do. If you want to help us keep the lights on and support us, Patreon is an awesome way to make monthly donations. If you have a business and you’re looking to partner with the show, you can also reach out to us at TheUpAndComersShow@Gmail.com. That is the housekeeping for now. I won’t be too long-winded because I know that we all are going through a lot in these unprecedented crazy times. In the past weeks and months, we have as a world experienced more change than at any time before at least in my life. Change is an interesting part of being human and it serves as a unique challenge at times. These are definitely the time where that challenge is being felt by more people than ever before in America with the COVID pandemic that is taking place.

Alongside this, I too have been experiencing equal amounts of change, not just with COVID but with moving my life from Los Angeles to Denver in lieu of getting married in the same week. My life has changed drastically not just with the COVID pandemic but also with the monumental life changes in my own life. Change has been a compounding force and effect in my life. Because of that, I thought it would be fitting to write a series of blog posts on change and the experience of change. The first blog was launched and there’ll be a total of seven in the series as I work through several reminders that have been helpful for me and that I hope can encourage and empower you. I want to intro this topic and the subject and share a few helpful reminders and ways that change itself can be helpful to encourage you wherever you’re at. Quarantining, self-isolating, social distancing, you name it, we’re all in a process with that.

Change can make us feel a host of things but there’s one thing that is always certain with change, and that is the change will make you feel something. A lot of the common feelings associated with change are unfamiliarity, discomfort, disassociation, uncertainty, lack of clarity, loss of reality, loss of identity and on and on. There are other feelings as well such as newness, awe, wonder, perspective, passion, purpose, motivation and creativity. Change makes us feel much deeper than consistency or comfort can. This is one of the beautiful ways that change is helpful alongside many others. Change can be helpful or hurtful and a lot of the ways that it’s either/or is the way that we view it, our perspective of it. It’s like the glass is half empty or half full. There are two perspectives that are always true of change.

The question is why change is helpful? I have a few thoughts on that. Change makes us feel deeply. It causes us to question why. It helps us see reality more clearly. It pushes us to grow beyond what we know. It produces strength and resilience that comforts cannot. It connects us to our shared humanity and unites us for the common good. It also leads us out from our home to the land beyond our safety and security of what we “know.” Change is helpful in many ways and it does all of this and more. Ultimately, it is essential to our experience of being human and of living life. Life itself is characterized by change. The only thing that isn’t characterized by change is death. Hence, there are many notable quotes about change and what it means to be alive.

One of them was from James Hollis. I read a book called Under Saturn’s Shadow that I would highly recommend. He said, “Only death is static. The principle of life is change and we have many deaths and rebirths to transit if we are to lead meaningful lives.” Erich Fromm who was a German psychoanalyst said, “Living structures can only be if they become. They can exist only if they change. Change and growth are inherent qualities of the life process.” Despite change being an essential characteristic of life, we who are alive are all naturally resistant to the change that shows we are alive. Dallas Willard said, “It is human nature to resist deep inward change for such change threatens our sense of personal identity.” This is the seesaw we are collectively experiencing in these unprecedented times with COVID-19. The point isn’t to try and get off the seesaw, but rather to remember what seesaw we are on and to see the beauty found in being on that seesaw.

This is the importance of helpful reminders. It’s the seesaw between change and consistency. When we’re on the side of change, we need reminders to help us realize it is a beautiful place to be, not a place to avoid or run away from. What are these reminders that we need? I’m not a psychic so I will not pretend to know the exact reminder that you may need, but what I do know is what would many would consider accepting the wisdom that which is most personal is most universal. What I want to do is share several reminders that I’ve needed most during periods of much change which definitely includes this moment of being the most change I’ve ever experienced in my life. The first reminder is that regardless of how much change we are going through, we can always remain grounded through practicing our daily rhythms or our cornerstone habits that keep our lives in place.

This is an essential reminder for us because cornerstone habits are the things that allow us to be grounded in the midst of the storm. Cornerstone habits are the way that we can remain grounded by practicing them daily. Reminder number two, sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is to show and extend more grace to yourself and to others especially in tumultuous times of change. Showing grace to yourself and others is one of the hardest things to do surprisingly so, but it is empowering and enabling us to accept where we are at and accept our humble human limitations. Show yourself grace, especially in times of change. Reminder number three, change causes us to operate out of fear and assumption but if we want to thrive in uncertain times, we must strive to operate out of love and belief.

When we experience change, we default to fear and assumptions. The way to counteract that is by working on being intentional and proactive in striving to operate out of love and belief. Believing in the good. Reminder number four, change itself is a neutral reality. What we do with it is the result that can be either good or bad. Change is neutral. What we do with it isn’t neutral. We must realize that change itself is a neutral reality, which helps us accept it and see it as it is, as a tool that can be used for good. Reminder number five is the experience of change is drastically different when in a community versus isolation. We need each other. We are relational beings and the power of community is necessary for using periods of intense change for good.

We need the community to face change well. Even in times of social distancing, staying at home, working from home and social isolation, we can still achieve community through the beautiful inventions of technology. It is a worthwhile pursuit and we must sacrifice time to do it because that is how we will be able to use change for good. Finally, reminder six, beauty can be found in all things if only we would look for it. This is a simple reminder that regardless of how that change feels and how it continues to feel, beauty can be found in it. Beauty can be found in all things if only we would look for it. In the episodes to come, I’ll be sharing more thoughts on each of these reminders. If you don’t want to miss those, go to ThaneMarcus.com/InThane and that’s where you can get signed up for my monthly newsletter.

Alongside that, each blog post will be emailed to your inbox. It’s a great way to stay in touch. We’d love to hear from you there. I want to quote John Wooden, “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” What a great opportunity to practice our change muscles in this insane and chaotic time that we’re in. I can guarantee you this, we are better together. One of the most powerful things you can do is send a note to someone that you love or care about asking how they’re doing. We need each other. We need to be looking out for each other, especially in these times. I’m excited to continue facing these times of change together with one another because that is what is required of us and living with intentionality. I hope you all have an up and coming week.